Silence
by ElectricLeaf
Summary: *Sequel to Static, through the POV of Jake & Grace* After the tragic end of his sister, Jake searches for answers regarding her death and his missing memories. With the help of a mysterious girl, he uncovers a dark secret, and gets involved more than he wanted. Waking up in Slenderman's hellish world, Grace and the other victims work to bring him down from the inside. *ON HIATUS*
1. Decay

''Jake. Your sister is dead.''

When Jake heard those fateful words, he knew his life would never be the same. At first he tried to deny them. Perhaps he had misheard. His fun-loving, little sister, Grace? Dead? There had to have been some mistake. He could barely remember his own name as of late, who was to say he couldn't hear properly?

But the look on his father's face after he delivered the news was grief-stricken, and his mom was sobbing hysterically in the hallway. They would never say something like that lightly, without being a hundred percent sure.

So that was it. There was no point in avoiding it.

Pushing past his father blindly, Jake rushed into Grace's bedroom. Her body lay unnaturally still on the bed. As he ran to her side and grabbed her hand in his, he felt sickened by how cold it was, how pallid her face looked. Her eyes weren't closed all the way. Jake numbly reached out and shut them.

He was hoping that any second her eyelids would flutter back open, that she would say how sorry she was, that she would put her arms around him and tell him that she would never leave.

When nothing happened after a few seconds, Jake decided he'd had enough.

Tearing back through the hallway to the front door, he ignored his father's weak plea for him to stay. He didn't even bother closing the door as he ran down the steps out onto the driveway. He didn't care that the neighbors across the street were staring at him, or that he wasn't wearing shoes. All that mattered to him in this moment was getting away. Glancing back once more at his house, he took off down the street, sprinting as fast as he could.

Having been part of the cross country team at his high school, running was a natural instinct of Jake's. What exactly he was running from, he had no clue. Leaving Grace's body behind didn't change the fact that she was dead. His mind knew there was no way he could escape reality, but his body didn't. It seemed to have a mind separate from his conscious one, and believed ignoring the problem was the only solution.

Still, it took awhile for Jake to truly process this, and by the time he had, he had know idea where his feet had taken him.

He smelled the rotting trees before he saw them. While Timberpine Rd. itself had never looked better, having been repaved and painted since the incident, the forest had never looked worse. It was a sad, empty shell of what it used to be. The branches that had previously hung with imposing grandeur over the road were shriveled and cracked with decay. The few leaves that clung to them were black with mold, and maggots crawled about the sagging trunks, finishing off what little nutrients remained.

Jake knew there was no way formerly healthy trees could get to this condition in less than a week under natural causes. They would have had to been exposed to a horrible infectant, and he knew of no modern day contagion that could do that. But there was no other logical explanation.

He had no real reason to fear the woods, after all, the last thing he remembered before waking up in the hospital was standing before them, ready to show his friends how bold he was. The same friends who had conveniently avoided contact with him since being rescued. He wasn't mad at them for pressuring him to take the dare, he was mad that they had abandoned him during the time he needed them most. Jake would deal with them later. They were just a small problem in the scheme of his life now. He would trade anything to spend the morning giving them the beat down than waking up and finding his sister dead.

Grace was dead. The words were alien in his brain, which rocked back and forth trying to decipher them.

His vision was starting to blur, and he realized it was from the tears welling up in his eyes.

Stumbling along the side of the forest, he distracted himself by thinking of what Grace had said about what it held. She had tried so desperately the first few days to convince him of what she said occurred, but it was hard to believe her when she provided no real evidence. Perhaps he should have listened to her more. The only scary thing about the woods was that he couldn't remember what had happened inside of them. He had resolved to hating them though, because everything negative going on his his life could be attributed to them.

That was it, he told himself. The woods killed Grace. That was why they were dying, it was karma for taking away such a wonderful soul.

He'd burn them down the next time he came, incinerate them into less than ashes, then spit and curse the ground they lay worthless upon.

Of course, burning them down in their current state would be like taking pity on them. No, he decided, let them suffer. Let the maggots and mold eat away everything they have left. Let them know what it's like to exist but not be alive.

At this final thought, Jake couldn't stand the feeling of utter helplessness. He fell upon the ground where he stood, letting the tears pour down his cheeks. He dug his nails into the dirt, feeling agony course through him.

What he didn't know, was that it was the same exact spot Grace and fallen upon with him on her shoulder a week ago.

* * *

**The next time Grace opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong. It wasn't so much her surroundings that was off-putting, but the absence of surroundings. An absence of everything, really. She was flanked on all sides by complete darkness, and a heavy veil of silence was omnipresent.**

**She couldn't feel anything besides a stark emptiness. Not even her own being felt solid. Perhaps she was dead. The details of what happened the night before came rushing back to her. The shadows climbing up her wall. Slenderman. Static, then nothing at all.**

**Just like now, she thought miserably. Is this what dying felt like? Or was this what your soul being taken by Slenderman felt like? Was she even dead, or just trapped in Slenderman's shadows forever?**

**Most importantly,what would her family be going through? What would happen to Jake?**

**At the thought of him, Grace tried to stand up. This proved to be quite difficult, due to her inability to feel her legs, or the ground beneath them.**

**She was starting to panic. Was this it? Just doomed to float forever in an empty void?**

**She tried screaming, yelling for anyone, but no sound came out of her mouth.**

**She was just about to accept her fate when she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her wrist, and her whole body felt solid again. Shapes started to appear out of thin air, and the eeriness of the area increased. She was in a forest, though it looked much different from the one back home. A dense fog covered the ground, almost suffocating with how thick it was.**

**And then she heard it. Out of the silence, the shuffling of footprints.**

**Two figures appeared in front of her. And when her vision adjusted to the darkness, she recognized who they were.**

**It was Wallace Anderson and Rachel Finley, and the look in their sunken eyes made Grace realize she had just joined the ranks of the dead.**


	2. Denial

Harsh sunlight streamed through the trees and hit Jake full on, stirring him from an uneasy sleep. Blinking disorientedly, he was unsure of why he was lying in the mud alongside the forest. Then it all came back to him. Grace...was it true? Or had he dreamt the whole thing? Did it even matter that he knew the answer, when he'd rather not?

Bringing a hand to his cheek, he felt the tears, mixed with dirt, that had dried across them. Water hit his hand, and he noticed it was drizzling slightly. Odd, that it should rain when the sun was out.

He was just about to get up when he heard a sound behind him. Swiveling his head back, he saw a girl, squatting about three feet away from him.

At first, in a moment of euphoria, he thought it was Grace. But looking closer, he knew it couldn't be. This girl was older, closer to his age, and had a more pointed face. Plus, her hair was much shorter and darker brown than Grace's.

Still, she was practically the same size, and anything remotely to do with Grace made Jake's chest feel follow.

Feeling a tap on his knee, he realized the girl was much closer now, and seemed to be speaking.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Jake managed to focus on her. ''Sorry, what was that?'' he asked, dazed.

''I said, are you okay?'' Her voice was much deeper than he expected, nothing like Grace's. Looking into her eyes, he saw that they were brown, not hazel. He relaxed a little, knowing there was no way he could identify this stranger as his sister. He felt silly thinking that in the first place, and for obsessing over the similarities so long.

''Hey! Are you listening, or what?'' The girl smacked him harder this time.

''Oh, sorry...'' he apologized again for zoning out. ''I'm just...going through something now and... not in the right frame of mind.'' he finished weakly.

''Sure..'' The girl squinted scrutinizingly at him. ''What's your name?'' she inquired, tilting her head to one side.

''Jake.'' he said dryly. He felt no need to give his full name, she might recognize it from the papers. And besides, she was a complete stranger. ''What's your name?'' he questioned back, trying to keep his tone casual.

''Lauren.'' she responded, looking him directly in the eyes. She made no indication of giving her last name either, and Jake didn't bother asking.

''Anyway, what are you doing lying in the forest?'' she implored.

Jake opened his mouth to respond, and shut it just as quickly. He really didn't have a good reason, at least not one he wanted to share.

''What are you doing in the forest?'' he challenged back, trying to sidestep answering.

She didn't fall for it. ''Why are you deflecting all my questions back to me?'' She rolled her eyes, then sighed. ''If you must know, I was out searching for more evidence on the disappearances, and just happened to come upon you, half drowning in the mud. Perhaps next time I should leave you passed out in the rain?''

''What are you talking about? I wasn't even close to drowning! The mud is barely an inch high...'' Jake grumbled. He couldn't help wondering what would've happened if he had died, though. Would he be with Grace now, wherever she was?

Lauren giggled, which Jake found highly inappropriate, even if she didn't know what had happened a few hours earlier. ''So you just take naps out here for fun. Sounds legit.''

''I don't have time for this.'' Jake brushed off his clothes and stood up.

''But apparently you have time for taking woodland rests.'' she said, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't bother responding. Taking off in the direction he came from, he still wasn't sure he wanted to go back home. One thing was certain: he couldn't take much more pestering from Lauren without blowing up at her. If she knew, she'd be ashamed for even talking to him.

''Hey, wait, I'm sorry.'' She called after, jogging to catch up. She put her hand on his shoulder, and tried to turn him around. ''Truth is...I know who you are, Jake Somers. I followed that story closely. I'm glad you got out okay.'' Her expression was more serious now, her tone sympathetic.

''Great. Just great.'' Jake exclaimed, putting his palm to his face in defeat. ''For the record, I don't remember anything. So I probably won't be able to answer any questions you have.''

''Well, I do have one you might be able to give me..'' Lauren began.

''What is it?''

''How's Grace doing?'' she asked it so casually, so indifferently, that Jake wanted to hit her. Of course, she had to ask the one he was dreading more than anything.

''She's dead. Died this morning.'' He hated saying it aloud, it made it feel so much more real.

''Oh.'' Lauren's face grew pale, but her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. ''Do you know... how she died?''

''No...she hadn't been well since the incident, though. Maybe another violent fit or a heart attack. I'd never seen anyone more paranoid than Grace those last few days.'' Jake finished, all anger replaced with numbness.

''Huh.'' Lauren said, staring distractedly at the ground.

''I mean, I really have no clue, but it seemed to be by natural causes. Might have happened during the night.'' Talking about it sounded so ridiculous. What if he imagined the whole thing? He couldn't have been at the house for more than two minutes before fleeing. Could all that happen in two minutes?

''No it wasn't.'' Lauren piped up suddenly.

''What do you mean?''

''I wasn't there...but from what you told me, and all that's happened...yes, that has to be it..'' She trailed off.

''What is it? What are you talking about?'' Jake asked in frustration.

Lauren tilted her head back, a look of certainty on her face.''Grace didn't die from natural causes. She was murdered.''

''Thats crazy-who would have killed her?'' Jake stuttered.

Lauren's look grew grave. ''Slenderman.''

* * *

**Grace did a double-take. Rachel and Wallace were standing in front of her, plain as day. But she had seen their corpses, damaged beyond repair...obviously, she was dead. At least that cleared some things up. What now, though?**

**As if by reading her mind, Rachel stepped forward. ''I'm sure you have a lot of questions. We'll do our best to answer them." she said soothingly.**

**"Which won't be very helpful, since we know practically nothing.'' Grace couldn't help but notice the way he glared at Rachel, and how dejected she looked.**

**''We know the basics, that's all that matters.'' Rachel stated, trying to smooth things over.**

**''Do we even know those?''he sneered back.**

**Seeing Rachel's face crumble even more, Grace decided now would be a good time to intervene. ''I would like to know where we are. I'm assuming this isn't heaven, at least I hope not.'' The place got creepier by the second, and the fog was crawling like tendrils around her ankles.**

**''You're right, we're in hell.'' Wallace said bluntly.**

**Rachel shot him a deathly look, and he finally seemed to back down. Adjusting her glasses, Rachel turned back to Grace. ''I don't think we're in hell. There's only three of us here-well, four now with you. We think it's a type of limbo, where the victims of Slenderman go.''**

**''Slengatory.'' Wallace chuckled at his own joke, though no one else did.**

**''Wait a minute, who's the other person here?'' Grace asked, panicked. What if Slenderman had taken Jake? What if it had all been for nothing?**

**''Charlie. Came about a day ago, but acts like he's the boss of us already. Seems to think the worst is yet to come.'' Wallace said, stifling a yawn.**

**''Because you're always so positive.'' Rachel snapped. Wallace shrugged and grinned widely at her.**

**Grace hadn't expected them to act like this. She wasn't sure what she had anticipated from Rachel, but Wallace had sounded so terrified on that tape. Yet here he was, sullen, but making cracking remarks.**

**Rachel cleared her throat. ''I suppose we should let Charlie know. He had predicted that someone else would be coming.''**

**Wallace nodded, poking the black dirt with his shoe. Beckoning for them to follow, he set off in a seemingly indistinguishable direction.**

**As Grace followed close to Rachel's side, she noticed the most unsettling feature of the woods. The trees...they looked creepily similar to Slenderman's tentacles. Sliding in and out of the ground, mist giving them a shadowy look. And everything here was colorless: black, grey, or white. Nothing but creepy trees, fog, and dirt.**

**Wallace and Rachel stopped abruptly, Grace almost skidding into them.**

**''Here we are.'' Wallace announced.**

**At first Grace thought he was messing with her, she couldn't see anything. But like before, shapes formed out of thin air. A crackling fire sat in the center of a ring of large rocks, the red the first color she had seen in the landscape.**

**And on the rock farthest away from the center sat a young man, maybe a year or two older than Jake. His brown hair was cut short, his face was gaunt, and his eyes were clouded over. He didn't appear to have noticed their arrival.**

**''Uhh, Charlie, this is Grace. She just came here.'' said Wallace, awkwardly sliding over to the rock next to him.**

**''Just like you predicted.'' Rachel said nervously, sitting on the rock opposite Wallace.**

**Charlie pulled his head up, staring straight at Grace with a demented expression.**

**Grace shuffled in place uncertainly. He wasn't exactly reassuring her, and she was having trouble keeping it together as it was.**

**Slowly, as if taking all the time in the world, he opened his mouth. ''Is Jake Somers your brother?'' he asked, speaking with a tone of utmost urgency.**

**''Yes. Why?'' Grace inquired, her pulse quickening.**

**''He's in grave danger. Slenderman plans on killing him.''**


	3. Determination

"What-you're insane. He's not even real.'' Jake shook his head, disregarding the notion.

"But he is! Did Grace ever mention him when she returned?'' Lauren's said, her voice frantic.

He wasn't sure how he should respond to that. Truth was, Grace had barely talked about anything besides Slenderman at first. And the fact that Lauren possibly knew that made Jake suspicious. That definitely hadn't been in the news, and the legend of Slenderman was an old one that few people knew.

''I know she must of.'' Lauren continued. ''The look in your eyes is enough to confirm it.''

Jake glared at her. ''How did you know that? Have you been stalking us or something?''

''No, I just drove out here today.'' Lauren said, looking slightly offended.

''Then how? Did Slenderman tell you himself?'' Jake said sarcastically.

''Because this isn't the first time something like this has happened. The same thing happened to my best friend Kate a few years ago.''

''And...what exactly 'happened' to her?'' Jake asked, not sure if he wanted to know.

''Went out in the forest by her house. Came back a few days later, with a broken camera and a stash of weird drawings.'' She paused only a moment before continuing. ''She wouldn't stop ranting about 'Slenderman', and became incredibly paranoid, thinking he was right behind her at every moment. It got so bad she was sent to a mental hospital for a couple years.''

''Wow.'' Was all Jake could think to say.

''Yeah. Not a good experience for anyone.''

''Did she...?'' Jake left the question hanging.

''No. She came back several months ago. Only...her mother died not long after her return...and she got worse again. I constantly wrote to make sure she was okay, but something always seemed off to me. She mentioned wanting to sell the place, to get out as soon as possible. Last week she asked me to come out there to help, and I said I would. But the next day when I called, the operator said the number was no longer active.''

''Why would she cut the line?''

''Dunno. So I called our other friend Charlie, who had been going out to check on her. He sounded panicked, saying something was terribly wrong. Before I could ask what it was, the line went dead.''

She had Jake's full attention now. ''That doesn't sound good. You really should go out there to make sure nothing happened.''

''That's the thing...I'm...'' Lauren started blushing.

''Scared?'' Jake guessed.

''Yes.'' She nodded. ''At least, on my own. If I had someone else, that'd be a different story. That's why I came out here. I wanted to ask you and your sister to come with me. Now, I guess there's only you, but I know we can handle it!''

''Hold up. You came all the way out here to ask two strangers for help?''

''Well, ever since Kate's first incident, I've researched everything there was to know on the Slender legend. When I heard about all the disappearances here, I figured no one would sympathize more than if they'd gone through it themselves.''

''You thought those people would want to go through something like that again? Not too smart are you?'' Jake shot back angrily.

She looked to the ground, enthusiasm fading. ''I didn't even stop to think you'd be going through something as well. You're right... I'm such an idiot.'' When she looked up, Jake was shocked to see she had tears in her eyes. ''I guess I'll go then. Thanks anyway.''

As she started to walk away, Jake realized he didn't want it to end this way. ''Wait.'' He called back.

''What?'' She said, trying hard not to cry.

Jake sighed. ''I'm the idiot. I was taking my anger out on you, and I shouldn't have done that. Truthfully...I want to help.''

''Really?'' Lauren asked in surprise, only to have her face fall again. ''You just lost your sister, I'm being selfish to ask for help. Thanks, but I'll really be fine.''

''No, you won't.'' Jake said, surprising both of them. ''Grace tried to save me without anyone's help, and while I was okay, it didn't end well for her. Same thing's happening to your friend Kate, and will happen to you if you go at it alone. Sometimes you just need support.''

''You'll come with me then?'' Lauren said excitedly.

''Yes. It's what Grace would have wanted. She gave her life for me, and I have to make sure it wasn't in vain. So let's go save this friend of yours. I'm ready when you are.''

* * *

**''He can't.'' Grace shouted. ''He promised a fair exchange, a soul for a soul. He already got what he wanted!''**

**''But did you give yourself willingly? Or did he come after you himself?'' Charlie asked skeptically.**

**''Not at first..'' Grace said, realizing that trying to destroy Slenderman and taking her brother and fleeing probably wasn't playing fair in his eyes.**

**Charlie smirked at her. ''That's what I thought. I'm not sure how much you pissed him off, but it must have been a lot.''**

**''Why do you say that?''**

**''Let's just say I can tell when he's in a mood, and this one is A LOT worse than usual.'' He turned towards the fire and started prodding it with his sneaker.**

**Grace decided that she didn't like Charlie very much.**

**''It's okay. No one likes him, really.'' Rachel whispered, now standing beside her. Grace wondered if her dislike was really that obvious, or if Rachel was just good at reading people.**

**Rachel smiled weakly. ''Let's sit down and talk.''**

**Following her lead, they sat down as far away from Charlie and Wallace as possible, who were discussing something fervently.**

**''How does Charlie know how Slenderman feels?'' She asked right away. ''Cause for all we know, he could be the reason.''**

**''From what I know, everyone that's been a victim of Slenderman has had a special attribute that shows up when they enter his world. Charlie's is apparently to pick up what he calls 'Slender Signals'. Suffice to say, his ability is being able to tell what Slenderman feels and when his moods change.'' Rachel finished.**

**''When you say special attribute, what do you mean? Do we have one?'' Grace wondered.**

**''I don't know what yours is, but...I've been able to read minds.'' Rachel looked nervously at Grace.**

**''That explains why you always seem to know what I'm thinking.'' Grace said in realization.**

**''Sorry..I can't really control it.'' She let out a laugh, then stared across from them at Wallace, who glared back.**

**''What's Wallace's ability?'' She inquired.**

**''Being an ass.'' Rachel responded promptly.**

**Grace had the feeling Rachel believed that. ''What's up with you two? I haven't been here that long and I already see tension between you.''**

**''He is-well, was, my boyfriend.''**

**''What?'' Grace exclaimed. ''That's what it's about? A love dispute?''**

**''Keep your voice down.'' Rachel grumbled. ''Everything was fine when we were both alive...I even thought I loved him.''**

**''Then...what happened?''**

**''He thinks it was stupid for me to go after him. He believes I practically committed suicide, since I didn't succeed in saving him and I got myself killed.''**

**''That's why you went to the forest. To save him.'' Grace echoed, wondering how Jake would've felt if they both had died.**

**''I don't know how he would've felt.'' Rachel answered, reading her mind again. ''But that's why you have to listen to what Charlie says, and save him.'' A tear slid down one of her cheeks. ''The same thing that happened to me can't happen to you.''**

**Grace mentally agreed, but as she looked around at the situation she was in, she knew she wouldn't be able to face it alone this time.**


	4. Delusion

Jake crept along the side of his house, peering through the windows to see what was going on inside. His parents didn't seem to be home.

Walking up to the front door, he tried the handle and found it was unlocked. His parents were usually good about locking it, they must have forgotten with what had just happened.

Stepping inside, Jake was greeted by a heavy silence. The door to Grace's room was closed, and Jake wondered if her body was still in there or if they had taken it away. He didn't really want to open the door to find out.

His room was upstairs, the door still slightly ajar when he reached it. Piles of clothes covered the floor. He hadn't bothered cleaning it up in weeks. There was only one thing he needed though, if he could just find it...

Outside, Lauren honked the horn on her car to let him know to hurry up. Apparently she had wanted them to leave right away, and had wasted no time in parking her beat up car in the middle of his street.

Jake sighed. He never liked being rushed, but this was pretty important to her. Pushing aside some things on his dresser, he finally found it. His video camera. Grace had returned it to him earlier, when she tried to show him proof of what had happened in the forest. All that had come up was static, but the conviction that had been in Grace's voice made him wonder if there really had been something at one point. That same conviction that had been in Lauren's voice, and the main reason he wanted to help her.

The flashlight was still in Grace's room, and there was no way in hell he was going in there. Hopefully Lauren would have one, or there would be one at her friend's house.

After grabbing his phone off his nightstand, he ran back downstairs, taking one last look at the house. He wondered if he should leave a note for his parents, but decided against it. He could always text them later.

Even as he closed the front door, Lauren honked persistently.

''Was that really necessary?'' he asked as he slid in the passenger seat.

''Yes. I'm as impatient as you are slow.'' she replied, turning the engine on. ''You might want to buckle up, we'll be driving in the mountains, and it can get bumpy.''

''If we can even make it that far in this car...'' Jake grumbled, dramatically putting his seatbelt on.

''Hey! This thing has logged hundreds of miles, and barely breaks down.'' She said indignantly.

''Barely breaks down?'' Jake repeated flatly. ''Yes, that's very reassuring.''

''Oh, would you quit whining? Just sit back and enjoy the trip.'' She smiled, and pulled off down the road.

A few hours into the trip, Jake was already regretting it. The first half had been spent listening to her dubstep CD, which she had promptly replaced with a K-Pop disk the instant it ended.

''Don't you have anything else?'' He had asked. ''Classic rock maybe? Or at least something that has actual lyrics you can understand?''

''I have a bunch of Taylor Swift songs on my iPod, if that would suit you better.'' She said cheerfully.

''Nevermind. Put the dubstep back in.'' And that had been the end of it.

The next part was ''sharing time''. Of course, Lauren had done all of the sharing. In a little over an hour, he knew more about her than he felt comfortable. He hadn't even known people could have a favorite sleeping position or fox species. By this point, he had stopped paying attention.

The scenery wasn't too intriguing either. While the mountains themselves had been beautiful, the endless trees once you were traveling on them got old quick.

''Are we almost there?'' Jake asked, unintentionally interrupting her while she was talking.

''Geesh, you're almost as impatient as me! We should be there any moment now, if I remember correctly...''

''Wait, you don't know where we're going exactly?'' Jake said incredulously.

''I know the general area.'' Lauren muttered, cheeks reddening.

''I can't believe it!'' Jake banged his head against the side window. ''We've been on the road for hours, and we could end up stuck in the middle of nowhere.''

''You know what? You are acting like such a woman right now. That's supposed to be my job!'' Lauren exclaimed, letting out a huff.

''Sorry if I'm not being all sunshine and rainbows. My sister died today, in case you forgot.'' He said, the air in the car suddenly feeling heavy.

Lauren didn't say anything for what seemed like several minutes. She opened her mouth a couple times, but no words formed.

Eventually she let out a deep breath and drifted her gaze towards Jake. ''You're right. I don't know how it feels, and I've been acting really uncaring. Your sister-''

''Grace.''

''Yes, your sister Grace-''

''No, it was Grace. I just saw her.'' Jake said quickly, heart beating fast.

''Wha-what are you talking about?'' Lauren asked nervously.

''Outside the window, standing at the edge of the road. I KNOW it was her!'' Jake rolled the window down, craning his neck back.

''Jake.'' Lauren started softly. ''Grace is dead. There is no way you saw her. You're just tired. Once we get to Kate's-''

''You have to stop the car.'' Jake insisted. When Lauren didn't do anything, Jake tried grabbing the steering wheel.

''JAKE! STOP! You're acting like a madman!'' Lauren shouted, wrestling for control of the car.

''I KNOW WHAT I SAW. Grace needs our help!'' Jake urged, kicking Lauren's shins in an attempt to have her foot slip off the gas pedal.

''We're going to get in a wreck! Stop it!''

''I will once you stop the damn car!''

''FINE! I'M STOPPING IT!'' Kate threw her arms up and slammed her foot down on the brake pedal, glaring furiously at Jake.

But the car didn't stop. It kept rolling, headed towards the edge of a dropoff.

''What now?!'' Lauren screamed, desperately to stop the car. She took out the ignition key, to no avail.

''Try steering!'' Jake said, panicked.

''I TRIED THAT ALREADY!''

Only now it was too late. As the car crashed through the railing along the side, Jake thought he saw Grace one more time, right outside his window.

With a final slam, it all faded to black.

* * *

**When Grace woke up, it was morning. Or at least whatever constituted as morning here. There wasn't really any time system, but it felt a bit warmer and seemed to be brighter out. Wallace was carrying bundles of the creepy tree vines across his shoulder, and Rachel was rubbing two stones together, trying to ignite a spark. Grace noticed how they avoided each other. As for Charlie, he was nowhere to be seen.**

**Standing up from the pile of mulch she had fallen asleep in, she brushed herself off and made her way over to them.**

**''Anything I can do to help?'' she asked aloud.**

**The two shared the briefest of glances before Wallace spoke up. ''Thanks anyway, but I think we got it. You can explore if you want, maybe find Charlie. We can never find him during the day.''**

**''Okay.'' Grace nodded, slightly disappointed she couldn't be more useful. ''But- what if I get lost?''**

**''You should be fine.'' Rachel assured. ''We tried exploring this place when we first came and found it only half a mile long. If you try to go further you end up going in a circle and coming back here. If all else fails, stay in place. We'll find you eventually.''**

**Grace just blinked, still not comfortable with the idea. But what better option did she have? Stay here and watch the awkwardness between the two grow?**

**Rachel's face twitched ever so slightly. She had probably just read her mind. Or maybe it was something Wallace thought. Either way, she took it as a cue to leave.**

**Rachel had been right. After ten minutes of walking in a straight line, the camp came back into view. Now that she no longer had to worry about getting lost, she decided to look for Charlie.**

**After what seemed like hours of wandering down dark twists of tentacle trees, she found another clearing. More of a chasm, actually. Looking down the steep slope, she saw a dark pool of liquid at the bottom. To call it water would be a stretch- it's consistency was closer to gasoline if anything.**

**Carefully crawling to the edge, she placed her foot on an outstretched root and began to slowly climb down. She almost fell once, but managed to jam her foot in enough to stay in place. She had a feeling falling in the liquid would do more than get her wet.**

**There was just enough stretch of land at the bottom to stand. Taking a deep breath, she was just about to dip the sole of her shoe in when a hand clamped on her shoulder.**

**It took everything in her not to scream. Charlie appeared from behind her out of a small dip in the wall she hadn't noticed earlier. The dark circles under his eyes her more prominent today, and when he smiled he looked deranged.**

**''I see you've found my special place.'' He said hoarsely. ''Don't step in the water, it burned my pinkie toe off.''**

**Looking at his bare feet, it was quite obvious he was missing it. A huge black burn covered the area where it had been, grey pus leaking out.**

**''Hehe, gross, isn't it?'' He chuckled, eyes wide. ''Wouldn't want that happening to your pretty little face now, would we?''**

**Grace had the sudden desire to get the hell out of there, and never make contact with Charlie again. But she needed to ask him.**

**''How do you know that Slenderman wants Jake dead?'' she said in one breath, prepared for Charlie to lash out at any second.**

**He leaned in a bit closer, an insane look still in his eyes. ''Like the redhead said, I know how Slenderman feels. You three can't see it, but clear messages appear to me, telling me his moods. The instant you came, blood poured out of the trees and human skulls came out of the ground.''**

**Grace choose not to say anything.**

**''And that happened because he got angry.'' he continued. ''Your arrival literally opened up fresh wounds for him. I dug a little deeper into his psychological problems, and managed to catch that this hatred stems from Jake getting away. He wants revenge, plain and simple.''**

**''Okay- but how can I help him?'' Grace asked, impatience tugging at her.**

**''Why should I know?'' Charlie smirked.**

**Grace really had had enough now. Grabbing the next tree root, she began pulling herself up. She was almost at the top when she really did slip. Only this time there was no where to put her foot.**

**Before she could do anything, she began tumbling down, straight towards the pool surface.**

**This was it. This was the end of the end. She shut her eyes, hoping it would be over quickly.**

**When she next opened her eyes, she was on a road, somewhere in the mountains. Was this heaven? Or could she possibly be back on Earth?**

**A car whizzed by, a familiar face peering out.**

**Jake! What was he doing here? And who was driving him?**

**More importantly, how did this work? Like her earlier experience, she found she was virtually paralyzed. She closed her eyes, willing her body to move, to find Jake.**

**After intense concentration, she opened them to find she had moved. Same area, but now she was along the edge of a cliff, right behind a rusted railing.**

**Suddenly, the car Jake was in barreled through, virtually destroying the fence.**

**She couldn't bare to look. The last thing she saw was the car crashing into a fallen tree, before she willed herself away, away from this nightmare and back to the other.**


End file.
